CHESHIRE Police have told Second World War veterans they will not steward next month's annual VJ Day parade, which amounts to a 10-minute walk!

The heroes of the war against Japan in the Far East - all in their 80s - want to march on Sunday, August 14 from Winnington Park Rec to St Luke's Church, a distance of about 200 yards.

But the police have told them instead they should take their event 'off road'.

Event planning officer PC Jerry Allcock wrote: 'If you proceed, it will be without police assistance and at the organisers' own risk.'

He says they could steward the event themselves but advises they carry out a written risk assessment study first.

Northwich has hosted the Burma Star Association's North West regional parade for four years out of the last six.

Ron Dobson, president of both the regional and Northwich branches and ex-RAF flier, said: 'We are livid, up in arms and want the police to reconsider.

'Why do they treat senior citizens who fought in the war in this way?

'About 200 of us attend the service and about 100 can make the march. I am 82 and one of the younger ones. This is the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and important to us.

'Because of our ages it would probably be the last parade we would ever hold.

'We cannot understand why the police would treat veterans in this manner. They do not seem to like senior citizens in this part of Cheshire.

'The police attitude is disgusting, especially when you consider we have a letter from David Blunkett - written when he was Home Secretary - acknowledging there would be a lot of parades around the 60th anniversary and saying he had instructed the police to cooperate.

'It wasn't long ago the whole of Northwich was shut down by the police for the carnival.'

Northwich branch chairman Don Hordle said: 'It is very sad. If we stop the traffic, are we committing an offence? We're all law-abiding ex-servicemen and to be treated like this is distressing.'

The police letter says street processions are frowned upon because of the 'extreme high risk' involved.

It goes on: 'You could deploy your own marshals to supervise but they would have no power to stop traffic.

'You should also give thought to your own personal liability if something untoward happens and serious injury or worse is suffered by a participant or other road user.

'If you proceed, I'd encourage you to complete your own in-depth risk assessment recorded in writing in advance. Any activity on the highway has potential for disaster.'

The Chronicle says:

THE Police have shot themselves in the foot over the war veterans' VJ Day march.

At a time when we should all be remembering with pride the sacrifice they made against cruel and callous enemies,

the decision to quote the police rule book at them is completely off-target and inept in the extreme!

The Burma veterans deserve better than a two-fingered salute - and we feel sure that wiser counsel will prevail.

We live in a time when every goal-scorer is a hero - but here we have a chance to give real heroes a proper marching salute that their bravery truly merits.